Questor Insurance News

Brits lose £350 million a year in poor currency conversion

British holidaymakers are losing £350 million every year because they are unable to work out currency conversion rates, according to the latest research from Barclaycard.

Confused Brits are unintentionally wasting £127 each when they travel abroad due to their lack of knowledge on currency conversions.

Running out of cash abroad

While 52% of British holiday jetsetters keep track of how much cash they’re spending while abroad by converting the foreign currency into pounds, 28% make mistakes when doing this.

As much as 45% purchase items which they originally thought were overpriced while 35% buy items they otherwise wouldn’t have chosen.

Worryingly, one in four tourists actually run out of cash while they’re abroad because of their errors with designer clothes buying topping the list of their most expensive money mistakes.

After designer clothing, local delicacies, gifts and souvenirs can all cause Brits to spend more cash.

Doing the maths

Of those who make a currency mistake, under half said they panicked while attempting to make the decision whether to buy or not.

As many as four in ten travellers said they couldn’t remember the correct exchange rate in the first place while one quarter admitted they make financial miscalculations after drinking alcohol.

This is true for the 2,006 individuals who were polled in the research with more than 75% admitting that although they might make mistakes while away they will research the most competitive exchange rate when changing currency before their departure.

More than half will even barter for a bargain while shopping abroad in an attempt to make their money stretch further.

Katherine Whitton, the Chief Marketing Officer at Barclaycard, concluded by saying that although many Brits try to stick to a budget while holidaying abroad things don’t always go to plan.